Ok, a question for you gearheads... Can you do compression braking in a rotary just like a piston engine? One of the new buyers said he dropped it into 4th looking for 6th and the car didn't slow a bit; it just revved the engine. Yes, I know a Wankel has a compression cycle just like a piston engine yet it doesn't fight against the upstroke like reciprocating engines do. It just keeps on rotating in the same direction as the power stroke. Can anyone analyze this for us?

 

Compression braking works just the same. Even a 5th to 4th shift in my FD causes the car to decelerate quite a bit faster. That'd be nearly the same as a 6th to 4th in the 8.

 

sure it'll work... i wouldn't recommend doing it, but yeah, you can engine brake.

 

Why don't you recomend it? I currently often engine brake (6-4 downshift) when approaching a highway exit. Often, with that single shift, I never have to use my brakes. It also places me in the gear I need for the street, so the shift was inevitable.

As long as you take the time to reasonably match the revs, it does not seem evil to me. Does this place more stress on rotary engines than piston ones?

 

...this is why i advocate searching and reanimating old, dead threads...

* MUAH HA HA HA HA!!! LIIIIIVE!!!! *
Using Engine Break <- i know it's spelt wrong, but i wasn't the one who started the thread...

 

Thanks. I started this thread and I did search for engine brake/braking. I am not too interested in engine breaking. If I wanted that, I'd be on a Ford forum.

 

Well, regardless of the debate of whether one should or not, I can tell you from experience that the rotary engines won't engine brake like a piston engine.

---jps

 

Yeah, my SA doesn't engine brake worth a damn, but then again, that's why God invented brakes, right? To me, it's better to be hard on the consumable parts, like brake pads, than the non consumables, like the motor and transmission. If you're intent on downshifting while slowing down, match revs. Your engine will thank you. :D